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NURSING & HEALTH

Care Worker Injuries

PA Nursing and Healthcare Worker Injury Lawyer, Freeburn Hamilton

Healthcare is the fastest growing sector of the United States economy, employing over 18 million workers nationwide. It is also the most dangerous. The attorneys at Freeburn Hamilton have decades of experience protecting the rights of injured nursing and healthcare workers. Our workers’ compensation attorneys are certified by the Pennsylvania Bar Association as specialists in workers’ compensation law. There are fewer than 200 lawyers statewide with this distinction.

Healthcare Injury Statistics

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, nearly eight of every 100 workers employed in nursing and residential care facilities were injured or became ill on the job in 2011. That’s the highest rate of on-the-job illness or injury of any occupation in private industry.

Nearly seven of every 100 workers employed in hospitals were injured or became ill in 2011. By contrast, five of every 100 workers in transportation and warehousing were injured or became ill on the job in 2011.

The rate of injury and illness for healthcare workers was also greater than that of construction workers (3.9 per 100), those who work for private utility companies (3.5 per 100), and the rate for private industry in the United States overall (3.5 per 100).

Healthcare workers in nursing and residential care facilities also reported the highest number of cases requiring days off from work for an on-the-job illness or injury in 2011 – 246 of every 10,000 workers. That exceeded the rate for transportation and warehousing workers (226 of every 10,000 workers).

Healthcare workers in hospitals also reported a high rate of cases requiring days off from work for an on-the-job illness or injury – 157.5 of every 10,000 workers. That was greater than the rate reported by the construction industry (147.4 per 10,000 workers), all other private industries combined (105.2 per 10,000 workers), and for those who work for private utilities (104.8 per 10,000 workers).

The Department of Labor reports that a healthcare worker in a nursing facility is more likely to be injured on the job than a coal miner! These injuries are often serious, and can be career threatening. This is an unfortunate fact, because it means that those who have decided to dedicate their lives to caring for the sick, injured and elderly are the workers who face some of the highest risks of work-related injury and illness. Without these people healthy, there would be nobody to provide the necessary care for those in need.

The rate and number of injuries and illnesses suffered by healthcare workers in the United States is likely to increase.

Healthcare is expected to create more than one in four (28 percent) of all new jobs in the U.S. economy between 2010 and 2020. The health- care and social assistance sector is projected to grow by 33 percent from 2010 to 2020, driven by an aging population and longer life expectancies, new treatments, and new technologies.

Registered nurses alone are expected to grow by nearly 712,000 workers between 2010 and 2020. More than 706,000 new home health aides are projected to be added over this same 10-year period.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, health care workers face a wide range of on-the-job hazards, including needle-stick injuries, back injuries, latex allergy, violence, and stress. Other factors that contribute to the high rate of on-the-job illness and injury among healthcare workers are long hours, changing shifts, physically demanding tasks, and exposure to infectious diseases and hazardous chemicals.

The most common healthcare worker injuries that lead to workers’ compensation claims are:

Acute injuries to the knees, hips, back, neck, and shoulders resulting from slips and falls

Back and foot injuries from standing up during long shifts

Back injuries from lifting patients from beds and wheelchairs

Needle-stick injuries from giving shots and drawing blood

Bacterial and viral illnesses from exposure to patients with contagious diseases

Freeburn Hamilton, skilled and experienced attorneys will fight to get injured and/or ill healthcare workers the medical care and disability benefits that they deserve. If you are a healthcare worker who is suffering from one of these ailments, you need an experienced PA nursing healthcare worker injury lawyer team working for you. Freeburn Hamilton has represented all types of health- care workers, from nurses and lab technicians to maintenance employees.

Once you have been injured, contact PA nursing healthcare worker injury lawyer, Freeburn Hamilton immediately. Call us today at (717) 777-7777 or (570) 777-7777 to schedule a free evaluation of your case or complete the contact form on this page. Freeburn Hamilton doesn’t charge a fee unless we recover money for you.

WE MAKE HOUSE CALLS! If you can’t come to us because of your injury, we’ll come to you. We’ll meet you at home or in the hospital, anywhere in Pennsylvania. We’ll meet you in the evening or on the weekend, whenever is most convenient for you.

Put the Pa Nursing Healthcare Worker Injury Lawyer Freeburn Hamilton to work for you in your fight against the insurers or employers who will try to deny your claims, terminate your benefits, limit your medical benefits, or force you back to work before you have recovered.